Friday 3 January 2014 07.19 EST
First published on Friday 3 January 2014 07.19 EST

Wigan Athletic begin their defence of the FA Cup with a home tie against MK Dons on Saturday afternoon, an unremarkable pairing at first sight though one – if the antecedence of the away team is acknowledged – that brings together two of the most memorable stories of Cup final upsets.

Romantic is not quite the word to describe Wimbledon's victory over Liverpool at Wembley in 1988, and given that the Crazy Gang were well-established as a top-flight side who could look after themselves it was not strictly a giant-killing either. Yet no one actually expected Wimbledon to beat Liverpool, the gulf in tradition between the clubs was too great, and at least one commentator unwisely remarked in advance that he hoped they would not, reasoning that on this occasion it would be bad for football if the underdogs prevailed.

A quarter of a century later, when Wigan deservedly beat Manchester City, and surprisingly comfortably, to spring the only Cup final shock of the Premier League era, the relief that football could still do heart-warming romance was almost tangible. Winning the FA Cup clearly meant the world to Wigan's players and supporters, something that not all finalists of the last couple of decades have been able to say. A s the club's justifiable fears of relegation were put to one side in scenes of joyful celebration at the end Roberto Martínez's side was credited with restoring some much-needed magic to a competition that for too long hadfound itself living in the shadow of the Champions League.

Not even dropping down into the Championship – no real surprise to a team that had spent most of Martínez's time at the club hovering around the basement positions – could take the gloss off an incredible victory. While it has become a cliche to assume that most clubs these days would sacrifice anything to preserve their Premier League status, Wigan might just be an exception. They would have preferred to stay up, naturally, but eight years in the Premier League was already an overachievement, and for a club whose supporters still chant about success in the Freight Rover Trophy and Auto Windscreens Shield, adding their name to the FA Cup roll of honour was a wildly unexpected bonus.

Unexpected by most people, at any rate. Emmerson Boyce, the captain who lifted the FA Cup after Ben Watson's last-minute goal had secured victory over Manchester City, says he had a feeling Wigan would win all along, though he still describes the events of the day as unbelievable.

"So many famous players have lifted the Cup, and to be up there first was an amazing moment for me," Boyce says. "It was unbelievable, but so was the way we played. I don't think anyone can dispute that we deserved the win, it was probably the best we have ever played. Out on the pitch, I honestly believed it wasn't going to go to extra time. I had a feeling we would win it in the 90 minutes, and then Pablo Zabaleta got sent off and we came through from a set piece. Even though I was confident we were going to win, to see the ball hit the back of the net was a feeling I can't even describe. Then the final whistle went. I didn't know what to do. You really do feel like you are in a dream."

Reality soon returned with a defeat at Arsenal three days later that confirmed Wigan's worst fears, though Boyce, like the majority of fans, is not going to let a small detail like relegation ruin the memory of a very big day in the club's history.

"My kids were in the lounge afterwards and they had their picture taken with the trophy," he says. "Wherever they go now, they tell people: 'Daddy won the FA Cup.' It's a proud, proud story for all of us. Everybody takes the mickey out of Wigan, so to win a famous trophy, which some big clubs have never done, is a space in history that will always be there. We players felt we had given something back to the fans, and I am just glad to have been a part of it. It's a fantastic feeling."